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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater
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Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 12677

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abasiofiok Mark Ibekwe

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
U.S. Salinity Laboratory, USDA-ARS, 450 West Big Springs Road, Riverside, CA 92507, USA
Interests: antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB); antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs); microbial community; pathogen; constructed wetlands; metagenomics; microbial ecology; fate and transport
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Jincai Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun, China
Interests: microbially mediated pollutants transformations (e.g., selenate reduction); the fate of contaminants (e.g., human pathogens) in the environment, at molecular, cellular, and community levels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water quality is important for public health, and wastewater effluents, as well as reclaimed water, contain chemicals of emerging concern (CECs). Land application of these matrices and direct discharges of wastewater into surface waters can introduce CECs such as antibiotics, nanoparticles, hormones, and personal care products into the aquatic environment. Therefore, the availability of safe pathogen-free drinking water is vital to public health. The goal of this Special Issue is to present papers exploring the fate and transport of CECs within and across different environmental niches at both inhibitory and subinhibitory levels and how this can promote the emergence of increased resistance in pathogens and change the structure and composition of microbial communities in water and wastewater environments. Papers that investigate the environmental behavior of CECs, develop strategies to reduce or mitigate the release of CECs, and evaluate the ecological risks of CECs in water and wastewater are highly encouraged to be submitted to this Special Issue.

Dr. Abasiofiok Ibekwe
Dr. Jincai Ma
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wastewater quality
  • nanoparticles
  • indicator bacteria, pathogens, and virulence factors
  • microbiological, chemical, and ecotoxicological assessments
  • antibiotic resistance genes
  • antibiotics
  • estrogen-like hormones

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2122 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Hydrogen Production during Anaerobic Fermentation of Food Waste Leachate by Enriched Bacterial Culture Using Biochar as an Additive
by Van Hong Thi Pham, Jaisoo Kim, Soonwoong Chang and Woojin Chung
Microorganisms 2021, 9(12), 2438; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9122438 - 26 Nov 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2358
Abstract
It has become urgent to develop cost-effective and clean technologies for the rapid and efficient treatment of food waste leachate, caused by the rapid accumulation of food waste volume. Moreover, to face the energy crisis, and to avoid dependence on non-renewable energy sources, [...] Read more.
It has become urgent to develop cost-effective and clean technologies for the rapid and efficient treatment of food waste leachate, caused by the rapid accumulation of food waste volume. Moreover, to face the energy crisis, and to avoid dependence on non-renewable energy sources, the investigation of new sustainable and renewable energy sources from organic waste to energy conversion is an attractive option. Green energy biohydrogen production from food waste leachate, using a microbial pathway, is one of the most efficient technologies, due to its eco-friendly nature and high energy yield. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the ability of an enriched bacterial mixture, isolated from forest soil, to enhance hydrogen production from food waste leachate using biochar. A lab-scale analysis was conducted at 35 °C and at different pH values (4, no adjustment, 6, 6.5, 7, and 7.5) over a period of 15 days. The sample with the enriched bacterial mixture supplemented with an optimum of 10 g/L of biochar showed the highest performance, with a maximum hydrogen yield of 1620 mL/day on day three. The total solid and volatile solid removal rates were 78.5% and 75% after 15 days, respectively. Acetic and butyrate acids were the dominant volatile fatty acids produced during the process, as favorable metabolic pathways for accelerating hydrogen production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater)
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16 pages, 2212 KiB  
Article
Bacterial Community Structure and Dynamic Changes in Different Functional Areas of a Piggery Wastewater Treatment System
by Lin Shi, Naiyuan Liu, Gang Liu and Jun Fang
Microorganisms 2021, 9(10), 2134; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9102134 - 11 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2618
Abstract
Chemicals of emerging concern (CEC) in pig farm breeding wastewater, such as antibiotics, will soon pose a serious threat to public health. It is therefore essential to consider improving the treatment efficiency of piggery wastewater in terms of microorganisms. In order to optimize [...] Read more.
Chemicals of emerging concern (CEC) in pig farm breeding wastewater, such as antibiotics, will soon pose a serious threat to public health. It is therefore essential to consider improving the treatment efficiency of piggery wastewater in terms of microorganisms. In order to optimize the overall piggery wastewater treatment system from the perspective of the bacterial community structure and its response to environmental factors, five samples were randomly taken from each area of a piggery’s wastewater treatment system using a random sampling method. The bacterial communities’ composition and their correlation with wastewater quality were then analyzed using Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the bacterial community composition of each treatment unit was similar. However, differences in abundance were significant, and the bacterial community structure gradually changed with the process. Proteobacteria showed more adaptability to an anaerobic environment than Firmicutes, and the abundance of Tissierella in anaerobic zones was low. The abundance of Clostridial (39.02%) and Bacteroides (20.6%) in the inlet was significantly higher than it was in the aerobic zone and the anoxic zone (p < 0.05). Rhodocyclaceae is a key functional microbial group in a wastewater treatment system, and it is a dominant microbial group in activated sludge. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that chemical oxygen demand (COD) had the greatest impact on bacterial community structure. Total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), PH and COD contents were significantly negatively correlated with Sphingobacteriia, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, and significantly positively correlated with Bacteroidia and Clostridia. These results offer basic data and theoretical support for optimizing livestock wastewater treatment systems using bacterial community structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater)
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16 pages, 3658 KiB  
Article
Diversity of Plasmids and Genes Encoding Resistance to Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase in Escherichia coli from Different Animal Sources
by Abasiofiok Ibekwe, Lisa Durso, Thomas F. Ducey, Adelumola Oladeinde, Charlene R. Jackson, Jonathan G. Frye, Robert Dungan, Tom Moorman, John P. Brooks, Amarachukwu Obayiuwana, Hiren Karathia, Brian Fanelli and Nur Hasan
Microorganisms 2021, 9(5), 1057; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9051057 - 13 May 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3520
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance associated with the spread of plasmid-encoded extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes conferring resistance to third generation cephalosporins is increasing worldwide. However, data on the population of ESBL producing E. coli in different animal sources and their antimicrobial characteristics are limited. The purpose [...] Read more.
Antimicrobial resistance associated with the spread of plasmid-encoded extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes conferring resistance to third generation cephalosporins is increasing worldwide. However, data on the population of ESBL producing E. coli in different animal sources and their antimicrobial characteristics are limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential reservoirs of ESBL-encoded genes in E. coli isolated from swine, beef, dairy, and poultry collected from different regions of the United States using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Three hundred isolates were typed into different phylogroups, characterized by BOX AIR-1 PCR and tested for resistance to antimicrobials. Of the 300 isolates, 59.7% were resistant to sulfisoxazole, 49.3% to tetracycline, 32.3% to cephalothin, 22.3% to ampicillin, 20% to streptomycin, 16% to ticarcillin; resistance to the remaining 12 antimicrobials was less than 10%. Phylogroups A and B1 were most prevalent with A (n = 92, 30%) and B1 (87 = 29%). A total of nine E. coli isolates were confirmed as ESBL producers by double-disk synergy testing and multidrug resistant (MDR) to at least three antimicrobial drug classes. Using WGS, significantly higher numbers of ESBL-E. coli were detected in swine and dairy manure than from any other animal sources, suggesting that these may be the primary animal sources for ESBL producing E. coli. These isolates carry plasmids, such as IncFIA(B), IncFII, IncX1, IncX4, IncQ1, CollRNAI, Col440I, and acquired ARGs aph(6)-Id, aph(3″)-Ib, aadA5, aph(3′)-Ia, blaCTX-M-15, blaTEM-1B, mphA, ermB, catA1, sul1, sul2, tetB, dfrA17. One of the E. coli isolates from swine with ST 410 was resistant to nine antibiotics and carried more than 28 virulence factors, and this ST has been shown to belong to an international high-risk clone. Our data suggests that ESBL producing E. coli are widely distributed in different animal sources, but swine and dairy cattle may be their main reservoir. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater)
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16 pages, 2340 KiB  
Article
Effects of Clinical Wastewater on the Bacterial Community Structure from Sewage to the Environment
by Ilse Verburg, H. Pieter J. van Veelen, Karola Waar, John W. A. Rossen, Alex W. Friedrich, Lucia Hernández Leal, Silvia García-Cobos and Heike Schmitt
Microorganisms 2021, 9(4), 718; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms9040718 - 31 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3070
Abstract
This study pertains to measure differences in bacterial communities along the wastewater pathway, from sewage sources through the environment. Our main focus was on taxa which include pathogenic genera, and genera harboring antibiotic resistance (henceforth referred to as “target taxa”). Our objective was [...] Read more.
This study pertains to measure differences in bacterial communities along the wastewater pathway, from sewage sources through the environment. Our main focus was on taxa which include pathogenic genera, and genera harboring antibiotic resistance (henceforth referred to as “target taxa”). Our objective was to measure the relative abundance of these taxa in clinical wastewaters compared to non-clinical wastewaters, and to investigate what changes can be detected along the wastewater pathway. The study entailed a monthly sampling campaign along a wastewater pathway, and taxa identification through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Results indicated that clinical and non-clinical wastewaters differed in their overall bacterial composition, but that target taxa were not enriched in clinical wastewater. This suggests that treatment of clinical wastewater before release into the wastewater system would only remove a minor part of the potential total pathogen load in wastewater treatment plants. Additional findings were that the relative abundance of most target taxa was decreased after wastewater treatment, yet all investigated taxa were detected in 68% of the treated effluent samples—meaning that these bacteria are continuously released into the receiving surface water. Temporal variation was only observed for specific taxa in surface water, but not in wastewater samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Contaminants in Wastewater)
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